Pavlov's Side
by Geonn
Summary: What was going on in that little puppy mind during "Impetus?"


  
  
  
I LOVE the taste of leather! The way it gives when you chew on it for an hour or two... the sound it makes when it rips... of course, there is a downside to the chewing of leather. The scolding you get when it's found.  
  
I spit out the piece I've been working on since earlier this afternoon and move on to the shoelaces. If there's one thing I love more than leather it's shoelaces!  
  
But my adventure is cut short. Sounds downstairs. Could be a thief, could be Mommy, either way they better have food.  
  
I bound down the stairs, my little puppy body moving at a bullet's speed. I see Mommy! Mommy's home! She's saying something, but all I understand is my name. "Pavlov? Where are you little one?"  
  
I run up behind her, coming around to her side. "There you are!"  
  
She picks me up and cradles my against her chest as she walks into the kitchen. For a moment, I hear something in the other room; I smell an odd scent. But before I can draw Mommy's attention to it, she has a snausage stuck under my nose. I love snausages. Almost as much as I love leather and shoelaces. Give me some snausages, wrap them in leather in tie it all together with a shoelace, I'm a happy, happy pup.  
  
Mommy gets something out of the fridge and begins to chew it. "Now you have a treat and Mommy has a treat, too."   
  
As we head upstairs, I hear another odd sound. A voice... But before I can listen too intently, Mommy interrupts me again. "Oh, baby, I have to WORK."  
  
I don't know what WORK is, but it sure made Mommy sad sometimes. It made her sit down for a long time and frown and say things like "What?" or "Oh..."  
  
Mommy sat me down and dropped onto the couch... where the eaten shoe was hidden. I was upset for a second, then heard another sound. There was definitely a Stranger in the house. I turn in time to see someone duck. I growl, ready to attack this monster that was easily twenty times my size. I bark.  
  
"Pavlov..."  
  
It confuses me sometimes; she bought me for protection and yet when I try to protect her, she tells me to be quiet.  
  
I run from the room, after the intruder. Mommy calls after me, but I'm focused; determined. As I run from the room, strong hands scoop me up and head for the stairs. Akk! I'm a prisoner of war! Mommy! Mommy run! He's holding my snout so that I can't bark... the Stranger has me!  
  
He slips into the kitchen and pulls a snausage from the container. Maybe he's not all bad. He puts the snausage between my lips and - what else could I do? - I eat it. It's so tasty, I can't help but give him a lick. He says, "Now, no more barking at your buddy, Darien."  
  
Urbudeedarien then puts me down and I scamper back to the stairs, eager to be back with mommy. The music! She's started playing the music again! Ah, I love the music. I love when Mommy dances.  
  
I return to the bedroom, where Mommy is dancing. Urbudeedarien is right behind me, peeking in at Mommy. I think about barking at him, but he might have another snausage. I don't want to risk losing a snack, so I keep my mouth shut.  
  
Mommy is now in the water-room where she goes to put water on herself (I've never understood the practice myself, but she smells GREAT when she comes out, so I decided the water-room must be a good thing). Once she's in the water-room, Urbudeedarien enters behind me and picks up some of Mommy's work. He thumbs through it, reading what she has to say, then puts it back down. He's backing out when the water shuts off.  
  
He looks for an exit, but then - to my surprise - he faded away! I run to where he'd been, sniffing the carpet. I could still smell him, but where had he gone?  
  
This was a mystery worth my time. But then Mommy comes out of the shower and I run to her and stand on my hind legs. She picks me up and I can smell the aroma of some kind of flower. I like flowers, so I try to lick her face. She stops me and giggles, putting me on the bed so that she can dress.  
  
The mystery of the vanishing man named Urbudeedarien was already forgotten in my puppy brain.  
  
---  
  
Hours later, I have to go. I stand patiently by the front door, but Mommy isn't coming. I bark. Then bark again. Finally, she comes downstairs, still wearing her robe. She opens the door wide and says, "Out you go, baby."  
  
I start out, but something blocks me. I take a step back, look at the door in confusion, then continue. Mommy closes the door behind me, as always, and I trot down the stairs to find an unmarked spot. Suddenly, Urbudeedarien appears in front of Mommy's car! I bark, excited to see him, but he shushes me. He kneels, scratching my head and says, "See ya later, okay, pal?"  
  
I bark.   
  
He turns and walks down the street, not looking back. I sit and watch him go, wondering who Urbudeedarien was and why he was in Mommy's house today. After a few seconds of thought, it is banished to the back of my doggy mind and I return for my quest of the perfect potty place. 


End file.
